Off the back of a soft domestic opening – Guy Ritchie’s bold fantasy-fuelled reboot earned just $15.4 million over the course of Mother’s Day weekend – THR reports that King Arthur: Legend of the Sword is now headed toward a $100m-$150 million loss.
King Arthur‘s box office woes aren’t exclusive to North America, either; across 51 foreign markets – China included – the Warner Bros. epic took in a lowly $29.1 million, bringing its worldwide total to $44 million as of this writing. Domestically, it was James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 that held on to first place with $63m, while the Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn comedy Snatched – a film that neatly dovetailed with Mother’s Day weekend for those in North America – entered the box office standings in second place with $17.5m. Meanwhile, Guy Ritchie’s star-studded reboot placed third on the domestic charts.
It’s worth keeping in mind that Legend of the Sword is yet to open in a handful of other major territories across the globe, most notably the United Kingdom, but few would argue that the writing isn’t already on the wall: despite a fairly intense promotional push, Warner Bros. is now staring down the face of 2017’s first major box office flop. For the sake of perspective, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword was allotted $175 million for its production, and that’s before you even factor in the added costs of marketing and distribution. The end result is an expected loss of $100 million for Warner, and surely a critical blow to the studio’s franchise hopes. Revisiting Camelot has proved to be a costly endeavor for all involved, and we wouldn’t be too surprised if Guy Ritchie and the film’s leading stars move on to pastures anew.
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword launches into UK theaters this week, and if you’re still curious to know how Ritchie’s movie stacks up, look no further than our in-depth review.
